Page 116 of Queen of Diamonds

I tried, and tried, and tried, but sleep didn’t find me again, and the lightning storm never left, no matter how many seconds passed.

“Glade?”

That was Kyan’s voice, a distant echo as I squeezed my eyes shut, panic gripping me, tightening my chest.

It wasn’t possible.

A lightning storm rose in the air, worried and smothering as his purr stuttered out.

“I can’t…” My words fractured. He was still there. Still holding me, peace in clouds, and rain, and rolling thunder. Was it… real?

His purr vibrated at my back. Ace would never purr for me like that.

I swallowed.

If this was real, then so was the bond. A whine of terror slipped out, and warm arms drew me closer. But this couldn’t be happening. I couldn’t undo this. When Ace caught up… I couldn’t be theirs. He would never let it go.

How was I in this bond?

I had to have accepted it, hadn’t I?

Yet… I thought I had.

I shivered, examining the connection open between me and these Alphas. I… I had accepted it in a moment of weakness.

“No…”

“Oasis…” Kyan’s voice was a sweet whisper, and he drew me closer. “You’re safe.”

“I… I’m not.” The words were thick with tears. I was shivering, both with shock and something else. My skin was hot. I reached up by instinct, placing my hand on his chest. It was bare, ridges of muscles beneath my touch.

I was so confused. Guilty, of both doing this to them, and…

“It’s okay, Glade.” His hands closed around my waist, and he shifted us, propping us up and drawing me onto his lap. I kept my eyes squeezed shut, pressing myself against him, feeling a rush of relief at every inch of my skin against his.

My loose hair brushed the side of my hand, and I felt a prickle of pain.

“Zed…?” I asked. I realised my voice was raw—much too raw, like I’d been screaming.

“He’s alive,” Kyan whispered into my temple. “You saved him.”

My breath caught, a flood of relief surging through me, and I finally found the strength to open my eyes and look up into his.

Beautiful gems of jade.

Not ice-blue with a sweep of black hair.

And his scent that drowned out everything else in the whole world.

This was real.

All of it was.

“You almost went into heat,” he murmured, palms gentle beneath my loose top, gently pressing against my waist. His every movement soothed me, making it easier to breathe. “I gave you suppressants to delay it. Not forever, but just for a bit.”

I tried to keep up, but thinking still felt like swimming through mud.

Heat…?

---